The coal furnace burned for 300 years, spending 1 billion yuan each year, but China was still powerless!

Coal is the most abundant source of energy on Earth, but the cost is relatively low because of its large reserves, so it is called cheap energy. With the development of the economy and the speed of coal consumption, people begin to realize the value of coal because it takes a long time to regenerate them.

China is a country rich in coal reserves. In particular, Ha Lan mountain (located between Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, China) has special geological conditions, so the quality of coal here can be said to be unique.

The coal here not only emits less ash and sulfur, but it is also almost smokeless and gives off high heat. It can be said that coal in Ha Lan mountain is an ideal chemical raw material. That is why it is called the 'coal king'.

The 300-year-old smoldering volcano on Ha Lan mountain

Coal in Ha Lan mountain is very precious, but its coal seams are burned wastefully. There are documents that they have burned themselves for 300 years, dating back to the Qing Dynasty. It is estimated that Ha Lan Mountain burns more than 34,000 tons of coal per year in spontaneous coal seams, causing losses of up to 1 billion yuan per year.

According to statistics, the coal seam area of ​​Ha Lan mountain spontaneously burned up to 16 hectares, the fire is still expanding. Before this problem, many people expressed their regret because not only money was lost, but precious coal resources were also lost and cannot be regenerated.

Charcoal on Ha Lan mountain has two characteristics: high gas content and high activity. This feature makes them no different from "fuses". When the upper coal seam is naturally burned, the heat will more easily reach the deeper coal mines. When the temperature reaches 300-700°C, coal in the surrounding areas will also ignite.

Besides, according to relevant records, from ancient dynasties there were small furnaces or small workshops for coal mining. By 1990, mining activities in the Ha Lan mountain area had boomed, but at this time the technology was getting worse and worse.

Due to substandard mining, coal seams are exposed to the air, reacting with oxygen and spontaneously igniting. The region is also riddled with vulnerabilities due to over-exploitation and indiscriminate exploitation. This is also part of the cause of the fire that has persisted for the past 300 years.

The mining process is still going on non-stop.

"Deadly" effects

The continuous burning of coal not only yields harmful gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, but also directly destroys organisms in the vicinity. This also makes the local air quality worse, and affects human health.

The relevant statistics indicate that the spontaneous coal furnace site in Ha Lan Mountain emits 12,900 tons of grain and 5,324 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Such emissions are 269 times that of a thermal power plant. According to the report, local people have higher rates of respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer than the rest of the places.

Not stopping there, the hollows due to over-exploitation easily cause landslides, mountain cracks, and stratigraphic collapse. Along with the barrenness of the land, many organisms near the mining area cannot survive, and much vegetation dies, which exacerbates water and soil erosion during the rainy season.

Why not put out the fire in Ha Lan mountain?

According to statistics, from 2012 to 2015, in China, there were nearly 20 large-scale gas explosions in Ha Lan mountain, and up to 9 cases were caused by spontaneous coal seams, causing great loss of life. The smoldering fire here every year brings serious damage and has been going on continuously for more than 300 years but still cannot be extinguished. The reason is not because they don't want to, but because of "the force of unwillingness".

First of all, coal in Ha Lan mountain is very easy to catch fire. Therefore, the fire can spread to adjacent coal seams. This situation leads to more and more spontaneously burning coal seams, so the probability that it can be extinguished is very small.

Coal continues to burn every day. 

In addition, "intensive" coal mining has accelerated the exposure of coal seams. As the contact surface between underground coal seams and oxygen increases, the risk of fire also increases. Because people exploit irrationally, the inside of the mountain has been hollowed out. It is these holes that provide oxygen to the deep coal seams. These flames are almost inaccessible.

Not only that, the mountain is also exploited from many tutorials to have many holes. It is impossible to seal these holes to prevent oxygen from entering.

Moreover, the method of self-igniting coal is also quite special. We cannot extinguish it by spraying water like a normal fire, because coal, when it meets water, will naturally produce hydrogen, which can cause fire and explosion. Up to now, people have not found a safe and reasonable method of extinguishing the fire.

Coal is inherently a precious resource and is gradually depleting. To protect ourselves and future generations, we need to do more to preserve these resources for the future.